Coral ID Please

drpaul84

Member
hey gang can someone ID this for me, i got it from SWF it was the mystery coral, just need an ID and how should i take care of it (food and stuff) what should i feed it an how should i feed it, it is my first coral it has changed so much from when i first put it in, when it first came it looked like a blah mushroom but then in a matter of 20 minutes all the little tentacles started popping out, looks amazing, so please ID it for me and give me any care tips and feeding requirements thanks
 

reefkprz

Active Member
Sarcophyton trocheliophorum ( toadstool leather)
Sarcophyton sp. (toadstool leather, fancy toadstool leather, yellow fiji leather and more)
S. ehrenbergi (fancy toadstool leather) , S. elegans(yellow fiji leather), S. trocheliophorum (toadstool leather or lobed toadstool leather)
warning Sarcophytons may exude chemical toxins (terpines) that are harmfull to many SPS and some LPS. the level of harm can be anywhere from inhibiting growth to full death. DO NOT propagate a sarcopyton in a tank containing SPS. proper chemical filtration and skimming may assist in reducing the toxins effects through removal.
toadstool leathers are generally hardy and prefer high light though they can usually adapt to lower light (with the exception of S. elegans it is more light demanding than the rest)
they like moderate to high flow, this assist their shedding wich they periodically go through, usually from growth but also after periods of high stress. S. ehrenbergi sheds the least often of the species I have expirience with. shedding can take a couple of days to a week. Ample flow is imperitave to proper shedding.
they are readily propagated, with most cutting off a section then placing the chunk in a dish with rubble for the frag to attach to is usually the best method. (S. elegans is less accepting of these tactics and does not frag well, constriction cuts are best for this species)
(I love it I wrote this up the other day so i can cut and paste without copyright infringing
)
 

reefkprz

Active Member
*S* not much. it may benifit from microscopic zooplankton but mainly subsists on its ability to photosynthesize. you dont have to spot feed it naturally occuring phyto and zoaplankton is usually enough unless your tank has an overskim capacity that is mindboggeling. (read that as, if you have fish to poop in your tank there will be more than enough food for the sarcophyton)
 

drpaul84

Member
yea awesome write up! an thanks for the info , so i dont have to worry about this thing too much right? it looks awesome fully sprawled out , is there anything to watch out for can things go wrong? im nervous its my first coral! whats this thing worth lol, i got it as the mystery coral for 15 bux....i hope my lights are enough for it, i have the coralife 4x65w
 

reefkprz

Active Member
they are a fairly bulletproof coral. good flow to assist in shedding, dont put anything that stings near it (like euphyllia-frogspawn, hammer, torch coral, protopalythoa, etc) they get stressed when stung and can close up shed or release extra amounts of terpines into your aquarium. the more light you give it the more wrinkles they tend to grow. low light specimines tend to be flatter while high light ones get more wavy in their head shape.
 

reefkprz

Active Member
not bad for 15$ the color is great on that one, I havent seen a specimen that purple looking before. usually they are browner. but the surface texture is a dead giveaway that its a sarcophyton. (does it look that purple to your eye or is it your camera?)
 

reefkprz

Active Member
I'd give him a month or so to totally adjust to your tank before fragging. they can get huge, I've seen ones pushing 24" accross I personally had one over 17inches just before fragging now I'm down to a managable size of 8 inches. I really hacked it up.
 
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